crazy sock night {and God's great ideas}

Lucy is an official "Cubbie" in Awana's on Wednesday day nights
and simply could not be more excited.
Week after week she memorizes and writes out
her Bible verses.
And is so stinkin' proud of it.
Me too.

Well...after I took Macy to youth group ONCE,
I realized how totally lost she was.
The youth pastor spoke way too fast, used words and terms
that completely flew over her head.
And though she didn't tell me any of this,
my spirit could discern it and I knew it wasn't going to work.

SO,
I decided to look into having her volunteer in Awana's.
She could be a help to the overly worked workers
AND
learn about Jesus in a much slower-paced environment
on the spiritual level that she's on.

So far, so good.

I love it when God gives me great ideas.
Lord knows I have enough silly ones all on my own.

So last night was Crazy Sock night.
It was for the children and workers alike.
And Macy jumped right on that fun idea.


But first a quick pic of part of my crew and me as we
were heading out the door.
Kindly ignore the catch-all laundry room and filthy mirror in the background. Thank you.

And how precious are we?
Spittin' image of their mama, don't you think?

And finally, the socks revealed.
I'm not kidding you, they were the most darling
girls at church.
Hands down.

And do notice the certain someone on the stairs in between the girls.
He'll be happy you did.





God is good!

cell phone pics {my life revealed}

I truly think that the pics you have on your cell
phone are quite telling of your life
overall.


And as I look at the four most recent (out of about 200+)
on my phone...

I'm not exactly what sure my pics say about me.

You be the judge.


Here is Brenden at our most recent
trip to Home Depot.

Here is Lucy making one of the gazillion
faces she loves to make us laugh with.

Here is a pic I took driving down the road.
I was all alone and just had to capture the display
in the sky. It was fabulous.

And here I am at one of my many doctor's appointments
with Dr. Lucy.
You too could be queen while undergoing various
medical treatments in her clinic.

And yes, that is a slight look of terror on my face.
If you were wondering.



So there you have it.
A sampler of my cell phone pics.

Eclectic.
Crazy.
Fun.


What do YOUR pics reveal about your life??

fun to hang with

I can remember when my boys were around 8 & 10 years old,
they would come visit me in the bathroom
while I was getting ready for the day.

It got to the point where it really annoyed me that I couldn't
sit alone to do my hair and make up without little visitors....
until it struck me that soon they would be teenagers
and they would for sure no longer want to
hang out with me.

So I decided to enjoy it while it lasted.

Well umm, they're 15 & 17 years old now and they
STILL come sit to chat with me
while I'm primping.

I love, love, love it.

And yes, that would be Brenden sitting on the edge of
the tub with his laptop.

Apparently I'm really exciting to hang with, ya'll.

Just ask my kids.

No wait...don't ask them.

They'd deny it, I'm sure.

:)

friday afternoon {in review}

Let me take you on a quick tour of our
Friday afternoon.

Lucy.
This child is always asking if she can do school work.
Always.
And she particularly likes to write out her
memory verses.
She asks me if she can do this, over and over.

As if I'm going to say, no?

But lest you think she's all work and no play...
she can switch to cheerleader mode, quick as a flash,
don't you worry.

But even though it takes a village to convince this child
that she is not the dictator of her domain
here in our homey-home...oh, never mind.
Who am I kidding. She absolutely IS the dictator.

Here are a few of her subjects...

So, that's our Friday afternoon in a chocolate-covered nut.

Have a happy weekend!

ridiculously gullible

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

And for plenty of good reasons, since:

1. it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
2. it is a major component in acid rain
3. it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
4. accidental inhalation can kill you
5. it contributes to erosion
6. it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
7. it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

• Forty-three (43) said yes,
• six (6) were undecided,
• and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water.

The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"

He feels the conclusion is obvious.

I really have nothing to add.

Except for the fact that it speaks volumes to the fact

that MANY are ridiculously gullible.

a hugger or a flipper?

I'm sure most of you have seen this video clip before,
but I think it's worth repeating
because I love the illustration so much.

So are you a "beam"-hugger?

Or are are you doing crazy-fun flips for Jesus?

Personally,
I feel like I do a few flips, then freak out and hug the beam
with all my might.

Then I try another flip or two.

Then hug tight.

Etc., etc.

one year ago...

Wow.

I have a gazillion thoughts as I look back over the past year.

But I'll save them to ponder in my heart.

Today marks 365 days since our darling
Macy joined our family.

And we are so very proud of her
and happy that God strategically placed her in our home.

Isn't she cute??!!

And to celebrate this very special day,
Dad brought her flowers.
Because that's just what this Daddy does for the
special ladies in his life.

Is this not precious?
Mercy.

I'd say she's bloomed quite a bit from one year ago today,
wouldn't you?

Happy FOREVER FAMILY Day, special girl.

blogger's block

Would you like to know what happens when

I absolutely cannot think of a single
thing to blog about?

Heehee.

No, I'm not pregnant.
Well, not in the traditional sense.

What happens is,
I post a pic like this....

This was the result of Kelly's wild and crazy
birthday party last week.

Don't be jealous, girls.

And don't think for a second that the big one is available.
He's all mine.

But the young one,
yep...he's single.

Get in line, ladies.

staggering stats

Hey, swing over to Patty's blog, would ya?

Her latest post is SO GOOD.

come on, show some HOPE!

Now come on, ya'll.

Doesn't your entire family need a Show Hope tee?

Yes, indeed it does.

I'll even work out a bulk rate for you.


I'm nothing if I'm not flexible.

mid-week date night

Tonight was amazing.
Well, relatively speaking.

But amazing no less.

ALL the kids were at their various church locations.

And we.

My man and me.

Two of us.

Alone.

For 1.5 hours.

We went to Target.
Had French Onion Soup at Panera.
Which if you must know we set out for coffee and
a pastry but the soup lassoed us in.
And the grand finale was of course,
Home Depot.

Look at my dear man.
A twinkle in his eye as he strolls through
the power tool aisle.
With all his hopes and dreams
swirling in his head.

It's just precious.


But look at me,
I'm so happy for how happy he is at this moment.
Despite my crazy hair
from the 122% humidity.

High humidity will be in hell, you know.




Our Wednesday date night.
Priceless.

i heart faithfulness

I am simply giddy over my new
candle.

Giddy.

My dear (and I do mean dear) friend Connie
is making these to raise funds for their
latest adoption.

Definitely swing by her site and place an order.

Think Christmas.

I highly recommend Faithfulness.

In more ways than one.

It's a very good thing.

Even my rough & tough husband loves it.


Enjoy!

forever family designs

I'm telling you what.

The adoption community is more generous than any other.

And just when I think it's reached its peak...
Mandi goes and creates this huge project where
100% of her proceeds go
to help adoptive families who are raising funds.

Don't you need a blog make-over?

Yes, I think you do.
:)

Go check it out!

where God wants you to be

"The difference between where you are and where God
wants you to be may be the painful decision
you refuse to make"

Craig Groeschel

Sesame-less Sesame Chicken

Okay, okay.

Here is my recipe.


Now listen, you gotta realize that I'm not huge on
measuring things.

I'm edgy that way.

So take all these suggested measurements with a grain of salt.

Oh, and you will need to swing by the Asian market for some
of this stuff.



Sauce

* 1 tsp. sesame oil (preferably hot)
* 2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic chili paste
*1 1/2 - 2 Tbl. minced garlic
*3 Tbl. honey or agave nectar
1/2 cup Chinese vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. corn starch



Now.
Let me stop here and make a few comments.

Yes, that's kind of a lot of garlic.
And no, please don't use powder instead.
Just have your toothbrush handy afterwards.
It will be fine, I promise.

There is a hint (I use that word very loosely here) of heat involved.
Heat, meaning spicy.
Look, if you can't handle spicy.
Sigh.
I guess just try it without the spicy stuff.
If you must.
But please, by all means, don't tell me about it.
I have a hard time understanding people like you.
But I love you anyway.

Moving on.

Throw all that stuff together, put it in a sauce pan
and bring it to a slight boil then remove from heat.

Then pour it over chicken prepared however you want.
We prefer homemade fried chicken nuggets/strips.

But sometimes when I'm feeling healthy (which is seldom),
I just saute some chicken breast in a little oil.
*Boring*

And don't forget to make some steamed rice to go with it.

Delicious, I tell you.


And the sauce is great as a dipping sauce for egg rolls.
Or whatever else your creative minds
can think of.


And if you're feeling completely wild and crazy,
throw some sesame seeds on top of it all.

Nothing can stop you now.





You're welcome.

emily {gone} and the dishwasher repair guy

Well, life with Emily is so yesterday.
(see my previous post if you have no idea what I'm talking about)

She was up to no good anyway.
And didn't lift a finger to help with dinner.

What.ever.

I called USCIS to report the intruder on our paperwork.

They got RIGHT ON IT.
And even seemed embarrassed that it happened.

No big deal at all,
I told them.

Human-ness happens.

If there's one thing I've learned going on our third
adoption (and other life drama),
it does zero good to stress about things out of
our control.



**Can someone self-appoint themselves to refer me back
to this post in the future, as needed?
Thanks.



~*~*~*~*~*~



And for ALL who asked,
all two of you...

my exclusive Sesame-less Sesame Chicken Recipe
will be posted soon.

But for now,
I need to get ready for the dishwasher repair guy to show up.

It's the most exciting thing that will happen around here
today so the kids and I need to make
the most of it.



Perhaps it's time to plan a field trip or something.

approval {woot woot}

We got our immigration approval on Saturday!

Woo hoo!

Only trouble is...
they have listed that we have an additional
adult living with us.

Someone named Emily I.

Not sure what this means for us regarding our approval status.
I'll give them a call this morning.
Please pray that they will re-issue our correct approval
right away!

But in the mean time,
I sure wish Emily would pull her weight around here.

I think I'll put her in charge of dinner tonight.

a tweaked recipe {for disaster}

Since Macy has been with us,
it's been my mission to find some really great
Chinese recipes.

So far, nothing has come close to what she ate in China,
but she DOES like my versions.


But the thing is...I keep trying to tweak my recipes so
that they are EXACTLY what we're craving.

Spicy, sweet, sour, savory.

So after much experimenting,
I have created the perfect sesame chicken recipe.

It.is.perfect.
Just the way WE (Macy and I) like it.

But the funny thing is...
as I glanced at the old recipe and then at all
the changes I made to fit our tasty desires,
I could clearly see that I had veered very
far from the original recipe.

In fact,
after making it twice and LOVING it,
I realized I had inadvertently forgotten the sesames...
in my SESAME chicken!

I kind of chuckled but the Lord immediately spoke to my
heart and showed me the interesting
parallel between my sesame-less sesame chicken
and what many Christians are doing to Christianity.

May I be so bold as to say that it seems to me
that we have taken our salvation...
and tweaked it to make it fit our own desires.

We've figured out what we want
and have strayed far from the original plan.

And have we in some cases even gone as far as to leave
out the MAIN "ingredient"?

JESUS.

Have we butchered the gospel so much that it
looks nothing like Christ?

That's a recipe for disaster.

Look, it's high time we get back to TRUTHT
in its purest form.
God's very word spoken to us.

It's time we put away the excuses and dig deep
into Scripture.

It's time to put away our sweet little devotionals
(not that there's anything wrong with devos!),
and take the time to search for the treasures in God's Word.

Personally, for many years I've followed a reading plan
that will get through the Bible in a year, in
chronological order.
I love this plan.

But for as many years as I've been doing it,
I don't think I've yet to get through it in a year.

But that's my challenge to myself...and to you.

HERE is just one of many reading plans to follow.

I literally get so excited to think about what would happen
if Christians all over our country got seriously serious
about studying scripture daily.


Revival.

Healing.

Marriages saved.

Families made whole.

Addictions severed.

Abundant Fruit of the Spirit.

Eternity changed forever.


The list could go on and on and on.

Let's put away our excuses.
Let's focus our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector
of our faith.



Let's stop tweaking our own Christianity,
let's stop straying from God's plans and purposes for our lives.


Let's get back to the original recipe.




Oh, but I do plan to keep my sesame chicken
recipe tweaked to my version.
:)
Heehee.

lucy {the pianist}

Well.

I really am speechless.

Got nothin'.



Oh, but I will tell you this.

In the last month or so we noticed that Lucy would
ask Macy to show her how to play the piano...and then she'd repeat
over and over what Macy showed her, effortlessly.

I talked to Macy's teacher and she felt confident that Lucy
wasn't too young and that we could give it a try.

Well, she had her first lesson yesterday
and I think it's going to be a really good thing.

She loved it!

And since she LOVES to sing,
it will be quite entertaining
*and excruciatingly annoying to her siblings*
when she can sing AND play.

I'll keep you updated.

mystery lunch

I opened Brenden's lunch box when he got home from school today
and found....

What's funnier than the fact that there is a roast
beef sandwich perfectly positioned
on a plate...
is that I packed him chicken nuggets.

**winner**

And the winner of a
fabulous Show Hope t-shirt is.....

Kristy!!

Woo hoo!!!

Actually, if you must know...
I think each of you "won" at least three times
because Lucy continued to draw names after the first time.

But,
we'll go with numero uno.

Congratulations, Kristy!
I'm not sure I still have your address so email it to me, OK?
Oh, and tell me what size you want.
(Adult S, M, L, XL)

That was fun.

showin' hope

I'm in the mood for a give-away.
How does that sound to ya?

So, let's see....

leave me a comment of some sort
and I'll throw your name in the hat for a

free

Show HOPE t-shirt!

I'll draw a name Tuesday evening!

And just so you know,
my model had quite the, don't tell me, attitude.
As you can see.



Welcome to my life.

that made me happy

You simply MUST check out these
two sites!!

First, my dear friend Karin's daughters
are doing THE
most amazing sweet little projects
to raise money for my
most favorite orphan ministry...
Morning Star Project!

THEN...
my darling friend Connie is making some
super cool candles that would
make THE best gifts.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This morning we got up

bright.and.early

to get our fingerprints done at H*meland Security.

It was extra special because Lucy was up even earlier than
need-be so that helped my mood greatly, as you can imagine.
Bless her heart.

Being obscenely long before the sun made its daily debut,
I just grabbed whatever I could find quickly
for Lucy to wear.
Which was a new little outfit my mom just bought her.
Well,
little did I know until we were an hour from home,
the shorts were way too big so in order to keep
them from falling down,
we had to carry her everywhere.
Nice.
Oh, then, only after we had been there for an hour,
I discovered the size/clearance sticker
still plastered across her backside.
Thank goodness she's not a teenager yet.
Can you imagine the embarrassment?

I shudder to think.

ANYWAY,
I must tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed our visit
to this obscure little office.
No really, I did.

Seeing a room full of faces gathered from all around the
world just made me happy.

I sat myself down right smack by the table full
of clipboards.
Everyone needed one, so I self-appointed myself
to be the official hander-outer of clipboards....with a friendly
smile, of course.

That made me happy.

Then I noticed a young man who was just starring blankly
at a form he was trying to fill out.
I couldn't stand it.
He obviously notice me looking at him with my,
please-let-Mama-help eyes,
and I jumped on the chance to ask if he needed help.
Indeed he did.

That made me happy too.

Then we got all printed by the loveliest gal.
And of course my prints
took way longer than the average person.
But I didn't mind in the least.
It was the closest thing to a manicure I've had
in a very long time.


Again, happy.

You have no idea how tempted I was to see if
she'd print my toes too.



I know, I need to get out more.





Now leave me a pleasant little comment then go
check out my friends' sites, okay?

my senior

Today was my big boy Brenden's first day
of his last year of high school.

:(

A senior.


Where in the heck did all those years go?

It was just yesterday that he would sit with a bucket
on his head and read books.
And you can sure tell that I'm a seasoned mom.
Meaning,
I've learned not to fret over details...
because he came home from school today
and said,

"Yeah ummm, Mom, I really need school supplies.
All I had was a pencil...and I had to borrow that!"

So I hit Target pretty hard tonight.

Gotta love those clearance-priced left-overs
for those of us who wait until the day after the last minute.